Kelly Cambridgeport
Google
Rating: 3.5 stars (First visit alone would’ve been 4.5)
Taco Azul is a sleek, modern taco bar located directly across from the Boston Athenaeum. You enter through a charming outdoor patio, which adds to the inviting feel, and once inside, the interior is gorgeous—with comfortable seating, high ceilings, and a clean, contemporary design.
After two Monday visits, I can confidently say the food is strong, but the service, pricing structure, and attentiveness left me disappointed.
On my first visit (April 2025), I didn’t order drinks—just water—and focused on the food. The Crispy Fish Taco was the highlight: crisp, flavorful, and well-balanced, priced at $5.99. The Mexican Street Corn was also excellent, and I enjoyed the Quesa-Birria, Shrimp Al Pastor, Mojo Chicken, and Pork Carnitas tacos. The experience was smooth and enjoyable. Based on that visit alone, I would have rated Taco Azul 4.5 stars.
Unfortunately, my second visit (May 2025) fell short. Prices had gone up—the fish taco was now $6.99, and frozen drinks had risen from $14.99 to $15.99–$16.99. I ordered the Frozen Watermelon Sugar Mini Margarita and the Frozen Espresso Martini. Both were tasty and beautifully blended, but barely alcoholic. The margarita was more like a watermelon slushie, and the espresso martini tasted like a dessert drink. At $9 and $19.99 respectively for just 5 ounces each, the value simply wasn’t there.
When I asked about the price of the $19.99 espresso martini, the server said it was due to the amount of alcohol. But their mocktails—like the Margarita Mockarita ($14.99), Spicy Mockarita ($15.99), and Watermelon Agave ($15.99)—are only slightly cheaper and contain no alcohol. The pricing felt inconsistent and arbitrary.
The service also suffered. My churros were brought out before I finished my tacos, and no one checked on me after dessert, even though the restaurant was nearly empty on a Monday afternoon. The server saw my empty glass and asked if I wanted another drink. When I said no, she walked away, leaving the empty glass on my table where it remained until after I left.
I eventually did pay the tab with cash, but after the check was dropped off, no one returned for nearly 10 minutes.
When the server finally came back with my change, she asked, “Do you want the coins?”—an oddly casual question that struck me as presumptive and unpolished.
The restaurant has many self-service aspects such as paying your bill with a QR code, serving your own water, and even seating yourself. Those aspects are great, but they also can mean a service that is a bit neglectful.
Also worth noting: nearly every menu item ends in .99—$6.99, $15.99, $19.99. For a place with such a beautifully curated space, this kind of psychological pricing feels jarring and out of place.
Final thoughts: Taco Azul serves delicious food in a beautiful setting, and I truly wanted to love it. But between the price hikes, inconsistent service, and confusing drink and mocktail pricing, the experience didn’t match the ambiance. I gave it two sincere tries.
I normally would rate this place a 3, but will bump up the rating to a 4 because the resaurant is new.